Artist June Stratton admits she loves listening to music while she paints.

“I listen to everything from The Black Keys and Tchaikovsky to Frank Sinatra and Robert Cray,” she said. “I paint to music all the time.”

A longtime supporter of the Savannah Philharmonic, this successful artist and owner of Whitney Gallery in Savannah decided last year to organize an art exhibit that would benefit this professional symphony, led by artistic director and conductor Peter Shannon.

“I wanted to help,” Stratton explained. “I realized I could be stuffing envelopes for the Savannah Philharmonic or doing something more useful.”

She ultimately curated “MuseArt: A Pas de Deux of Music and Art,” a new music-themed exhibit on display at the Whitney Gallery through March 1. The exhibition features 15 oil paintings by Stratton as well as hand-colored drawings by Harriet DeLong, etchings by the late David DeLong and mixed media work by Peter Roberts. Half of the proceeds from all sales benefits the Savannah Philharmonic.

For Stratton, the biggest challenge was conveying the kinetic energy of music in two-dimensional works of art.

“Art is so static, and music is so dynamic,” she said. “It was an interesting challenge to put that dynamic feeling onto a static surface.”

Part of how Stratton accomplished that goal was to overlay multiple visual images within a single composition, depicting a bow arching gracefully over a violin neck in a series of cinematic, superimposed movements. Working from hundreds of photographs she snapped of various Savannah Philharmonic musicians, as well as the organization’s conductor, she blended together details to suggest motion and evoke emotion.

“I love the creative process,” she said. “To me, music is about movement. It doesn’t work without the hands or the body. Because I’m interested in figurative work, it’s the perfect fit for me.”

Stratton’s oil paintings are defined by radiant light, plush fabrics and a vibrant palette that captures the irrepressible spirit of music. She uses golden amber hues to depict a pianist practicing at the Lucas Theatre, framing the musician’s face in the open grand piano as she focuses the eye on the detailed inner mechanics of the instrument.

In two large-scale portraits, she portrays a violinist performing in an exquisite strapless satin gown and Peter Shannon clutching his conductor’s baton in a pensive moment. A series of black and white works — created with oil and graphite on drafting film — emphasizes musicians’ hands, while a trio of abstract pieces explores the pure energy of sound.

For “MuseArt,” graphic artist Peter Roberts created a playful series of compositions inspired by music terminology and slang. Using 1950s-era imagery, bright colors and glossy layers of resin, he crafts light-hearted visual tributes to music in “Quatrain” and “Worksong.”

“Music and art are definitely complimentary, if not integral to one another,” he explained. “One is just using different senses to immerse and enjoy.”